What To Do To Resolve Your Little Ones Day/night Confusion
Contrary to urban legends surround day/night confusion, assisting babies to remedy this condition is not just about sleeping them in a light room in the day so they know it isnt night-time we still recommend babies nap in the dark, even as newborns. When it comes to day/night confusion, it simply boils down to the fact that babies need a hand to kickstart their circadian rhythm and getting their body clock functioning properly. The best way to do this is by helping them to regulate their daytime sleep hours by having a bit more control over how long they nap for.
The most effective way to do this is by waking your baby from their naps if they are at risk of napping for too long in one go . This means they will stay awake longer during the day and theyll also have lots of opportunities for feeds during the day, so they wont need to make up for missed feeds overnight.
What we want to do is reverse your babys day/night confusion pattern and focus on having more feeds and shorter sleeps happening during the day, so that you can save the nice long stretches of sleep for the night-time, when sleep is going to be more restorative for your baby.
How Do I Make Sure My Baby Gets The Right Amount Of Sleep
Overstimulation during the day can cause your baby to either sleep too little or sleep when they should be eating, due to exhaustion. Newborn babies need to be fed frequently to ensure proper development.
If your newborn baby becomes overtired they will become fussy, and harder to settle for sleep. We’ve given age-targeted tips to help avoid overstimulation and improve your baby’s sleep in the sleep schedules below. For more information on how much sleep your baby needs and how long they should be sleeping at a time read How Much Do Newborns Sleep?
Learning your baby’s sleep cycle
While your baby has your nose or eyes, the two of you couldn’t be farther apart when it comes to sleep cycle! The main reason your newborn’s sleep patterns are unpredictable is because of their evolving sleep cycle.
Adults can easily pass from one sleep cycle into the next without completely waking up. Newborns, however, don’t stay in deep sleep for long periods at a time, so they are more susceptible to frequent wake-ups. Our post, Your Baby’s Sleep Cycle, explains more in-depth about how your baby’s sleep cycle is linked to their sleep patterns.
To learn more about the changes to your baby’s sleep cycle and how to cope with sleep regression, read our post 10 Tips to Surviving the 4 Month Sleep Regression.
What Can I Do To Help My Baby
There are many ways you can help your baby if it has nights and days mixed up. Here are some strategies for how:
Have a routine of when you turn on the lights, go outside, eat dinner, or get ready for bed. This will give her cues each time about whether its daytime or night time based on what is happening in that moment. You could also try putting different coloured light bulbs throughout your home . The colour spectrum in this way symbolizes something!
Be consistent with napping schedules if she knows when nap time is each day then shell be able to distinguish day from night.
Set a timer for when she should be getting up and going to bed each day or evening, which will help her stay on track with whether its daytime or nighttime.
Read books together before naps or bedtime that have animals out during the day versus at night. We also recommend Little Kids Bedtime.
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How Can I Tell If A Newborn Is Sleeping Too Much
A baby occasionally sleeping for longer than usual is not a cause for concern unless there are other symptoms.
In general, it is uncommon for a newborn to consistently sleep through feedings or to sleep for longer than 19 hours per day unless they are ill or are having feeding difficulties.
Some of the most common reasons that healthy babies sleep for longer than usual include the following:
- They may experience a growth spurt or developmental leap.
- They may have a minor illness, such as a cold.
- They may have a serious infection. This is rare, but it can happen. A newborn might not have a fever or other symptoms of illness like an older baby might.
- In very rare instances, a baby may have another medical condition that causes them to sleep too much. Breathing and heart disorders may affect sleep, and premature babies often have different sleep patterns from full-term infants.
- Some babies sleep too much because they have jaundice. A newborn who has jaundice will have a yellow color to their skin and a yellow cast to the whites of their eyes. Other symptoms of more severe jaundice include being lethargic, having difficulty eating, and being fussy or irritable.
- Sometimes, babies may sleep too much because they are not getting enough to eat. They may get dehydrated, lose too much weight, and even experience a failure to thrive.
However, in the early stages especially for first-time parents the signs of a potential problem may be easy to miss.
Newborn Sleep Patterns: A Survival Guide
As every parent knows, the world of newborn sleep is exotic and strange. Babies rack up lots of sleep overall, averaging 16-18 hours a day during the first two weeks. Yet they awaken frequently, and rarely sleep more than 4 hours at a stretch, even at night. Their internal clocks arent yet synchronized with the external, 24-hour day.
Its a recipe for exhaustion, but understanding the science of sleep can help you cope, and avoid mistakes that can delay your childs development of more mature sleep rhythms.
In this article, youll learn about
- fundamental differences between newborn sleep and adult sleep
- circadian rhythms, and how you can help your baby get in sync with the natural day
- sleep cycles in the newborn, and how to work around them
- tips for preventing newborns from waking up and
- advice for improving your own sleep.
Throughout, I focus on babies under four weeks of age. For information about older infants, see my article on baby sleep patterns.
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How To Keep Your Light Sleeper From Waking Up All The Way
1. Dont rush in the moment you think your baby has awakened.
As noted above, babies experience frequent arousals, but that doesnt mean they are doomed to wake up all the way every few minutes. Babies often jerk, sigh, or vocalize during partial arousals. If you avoid stimulating them during these moments, they may go back to sleep on their own.
2. Tank up the baby before you go to sleep.
Whether you breastfeed or bottle-fed, try to give the baby an especially large meal before your own bedtime. This will encourage your baby to sleep longer. To learn more about this approach, see this Parenting Science guide to Dream feeding.
3. If you feed your baby formula, try to find one that includes DHA.
DHA is a fatty acid found in fish oil and other dietary sources. Its important for brain development, and may play a role in shaping sleep patterns as well.
In one study, children who consumed low levels of DHA had reduced amount of slow-wave sleep . In another study, pregnant women with higher blood levels of DHA gave birth to babies who spent more time in quiet sleep .
DHA is found in breast milk, so its plausible that boosting a nursing mothers DHA intake could improve a newborns sleep patterns. If you use formula, it seems like a good idea to find a baby formula that contains DHA.
4. Check out my article on baby sleep aids.
There youll find tips for improving newborn sleep, and avoiding practices that are either unhelpful or potentially hazardous.
Have A Bedtime Routine
A predictable bedtime routine can help calm down your baby and get him ready for bedtime. The activities you do pre-bedtime will eventually become cues for him that its time to sleep. You can give him a bath, rub lotion on him, sing songs, read books, and give him one last feeding before putting him down for the night.
Newborn sleep can be extremely tricky those first few months, but staying consistent and setting up a good newborn sleep schedule and routine will help everyone get a better nights rest! Sleep training is not recommended until four months old.
We followed a combination of Babywise and The Baby Whisperer to get our girl on a good sleeping routine early on, but it does take work! Establishing your babys days and nights will be the first step in helping them learn healthy sleep habits!
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What A Newborn Sleep Schedule May Look Like
As a newborn, your baby will sleep for one to four hours at a time around the clock. Here’s what a day’s sleep may look like:
- 6 a.m.: Wake, change diaper, and eat
- 7:30 a.m.: Morning nap
- 9 a.m.: Wake, change diaper, and eat
- 10 a.m.: Second morning nap
- 12 p.m.: Wake, change diaper, and eat
- 1 p.m.: Afternoon nap
- 3 p.m.: Wake, change diaper, and eat
- 4 p.m.: Second afternoon nap
- 6 p.m.: Wake, change diaper, and eat
- 6:30 p.m.: Bedtime
- 9 p.m.: Wake, change diaper, and eat
- 9:30 p.m.: Back to sleep
- 12 a.m. Wake, change diaper, and eat
- 12:30 a.m. Back to sleep
- 2 a.m.: Wake, change diaper, and eat
- 2:30 a.m.: Back to sleep
- 4:30 a.m.: Wake, change diaper, and eat
- 5 a.m.: Back to sleep
Why Do Newborns Experience Day
As adults, we have an internal clock known as the circadian rhythm. That circadian rhythm is regulated by our hormones, including the sleepy hormone, melatonin. It’s also driven by the light and darkness outside and the schedule you typically follow. Do you find yourself waking up on the weekend at the same time your alarm normally goes off during the week? This is your circadian rhythm in action.
Your newborn doesnt have this rhythm quite yet. They are still developing that internal clock that tells them its time to sleep, and those sleepy hormones arent regulated until closer to 3-4 months. This is why we see babies who sleep all day and are up all night.
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Why Light Sleep Is Important For Babies
The rapidly growing infant brain needs all this active sleep, and indeed it may even be a protective factor against SIDS!
Research by Doctor James McKenna, Professor of Anthropology at University of Notre Dame, studied mothers and their babies as they shared a room or slept in separate rooms. They found that not only did room-sharing pairs share the same sleep cycles, but babies who room-shared experienced more frequent arousals, triggered by the mothers movements, and spent less time in deep sleep.
McKenna believes that these low-level arousals which did not actually awaken either partner give the baby practice in rousing itself. It may lessen a babys risk of SIDS if a baby fails to arouse from deep sleep to re-establish breathing patterns.
This and other research has led to the recommendation that babies share the same room as their mother in the first 6-12 months. Find out more about the work of Doctor James McKenna here.
Differentiate Day From Night
So we established already that we arent going to stop baby from napping during the day. What we can do is make their daytime environment less conducive to the deep, restorative sleep we want them to get at night.
How do we do this? We keep daytime light, bright, and loud.
Take baby out with you for errands. Wear him while you do your household chores . Let the older kids make kid noises all around the baby. Dont tiptoe around the sleeping baby and dont put them in their own dark room. It is daytime and it should feel like daytime.
I personally dont tend to swaddle baby during the day, but this one is personal choice. Instead I would wear the baby, put him in a baby seat, in the swing, or on the floor. I saved the swaddle for night time as another way to promote night time sleep.
When night time comes, make the transition obvious with a bedtime routine.
It doesnt need to be a full-on bath, pajamas, book, and song bedtime routine like youd do with a toddler. Just maybe a diaper change, PJs, swaddle, and last feeding in a dark environment bedtime routine.
Ive found few babies can resist the combination of being swaddled, fed, and laid down to sleep in a dark room with white noise playing
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Avoid Eye Contact During Night Feeds
Many babies, including our own daughter feel comforted by eye contact during the night feeds.
This is a natural response because they feel like someone is there to help them and reassure them that its going to be ok. However, in the case of night-time feedings this can actually lead to more difficulty with sleep if they are woken up too much by by eye contact during feeding time!
It may seem counter intuitive but try using indirect light or darkness as much as possible when comforting your baby for the night feeds . This will allow her brain enough time to settle down before bed again!
Should I Wake Up With My Baby Every Time They Wake Up At Night
During the first 12 months, babies develop quickly, and their sleep patterns change rapidly. Its important to understand that all babies briefly awaken several times a night. Some babies are able to soothe themselves back to sleep after they wake up. Other babies learn to signal their parents for help to settle them back to sleep if they wake up in the middle of the night. However, it is best to let the newborn comfort himself or herself back to sleep rather than develop a need or association with a parent or guardian.
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Keep Nights Boring And Dark
The opposite should happen at nightkeep the nursery dark and hushed. When your baby wakes for feeding and changing, remain quiet and calm. Try to avoid flipping on a light and keep your voice low and soothing. This is especially important if your baby seems to want to play during nighttime feedings. Dont ignore her, obviously, but dont give her any impression other than its nighttime now…shhhh
Finally, remember that no matter how your babys sleep time is apportionedmostly in the day, mostly at night, or a combination of the twothe overall need for sleep remains the same, which is vital. A newborn needs at least 16 hours sleep out of 24. That means that even if you do manage to gradually shift more sleep hours to the nighttime, youre still going to have stretches of daytime sleep, and some night hours thatll be wakeful for you both, at least in the early weeks or months. Try to be zen about it and catch a few zzzs yourself during the day.
Follow Newton
Use White Noise From A Sound Machine
Playing music can also help soothe your baby to sleep in no time. You could sing or talk through the baby monitor, or purchase a sound machine which has many options like: ocean waves, rainforest sounds, womb noises all of them are perfect for helping your little one drift off into dreamland!
Once you find something that works well for you and your baby its important not to change too much because this will disrupt their sleeping habits and routine.
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Put Baby Back To Sleep At Night Time
If your little one wakes up again after midnight, there are a few things that might be interfering with their natural circadian rhythms. This includes light exposure from screens , room temperature fluctuations or hunger pain from not eating enough before bedtime. Try putting something on his/her feet as this will regulate body temp and stimulate deep breathing- which promotes night long sleep.
Establishing A Baby Bedtime Routine
You may feel ready to introduce a bedtime routine when your baby is around 3 months old. Getting them into a simple, soothing bedtime routine can be helpful for everyone and help prevent sleeping problems later on. Its also a great opportunity to have one-to-one time with your baby.
The routine could consist of:
- changing into night clothes and a fresh nappy
- putting them to bed
- dimming the lights in the room to create a calm atmosphere
- giving a goodnight kiss and cuddle
- singing a lullaby or having a wind-up musical mobile you can turn on when youve put your baby to bed
- brushing their teeth
As your child gets older, it can be helpful to keep to a similar bedtime routine. Too much excitement and stimulation just before bedtime can wake your child up again. Spend some time winding down and doing some calmer activities, like reading.
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The Fact Of The Matter Is
Babies go to sleep better and sleep longer when they are calm, settled, and in a good routine.
It doesnt have to be a huge thing with church bells and four part harmony, but the more you are able to protect your babys sleep, create a good wind-down routine, and make it a regular part of your evening, the better your whole family will sleep.
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Create sustainable sleep habits for your little lamb so the whole family can sleep peacefully without the stress, drama, and tears.